Do you Request Herpes Testing?

[Sadie6969]

As I mentioned in a previous post (Being Honest), after our first house party I experienced an outbreak of herpes.
After doing a LOT of research on herpes, I am finding out that this is something that is NOT tested for when you request the regular STD testing. It is not typically done unless you have symptoms and/or specifically request it.

1 in 4 people have it, and 80% of them don't know it! (I don't remember where I got my statistics, I'm sure they different depending on the source.....) My question to all you swingers out there is - 1) Are you tested regularly for STD's (how often) and 2) do you specify testing for HSV or do you know for a FACT that your doctor has it covered when you request testing?

Since this is all news to me I'm not sure if it's known to everyone here, or if I am the only ignorant one.

Sadie

[Sadie6969]

Okay - I forgot to acknowledge those that already have it (like myself). Feel free to post a reply, I guess I would not expect a vote on the poll........head bang

[JustAskJulie]

There is now a test for HSV that can detect whether or not you have the virus... it's a blood test and can be cost prohibitive. Until recently however, they really couldn't test you for it unless you had a symptoms or had recently had symptoms... and even at that point it couldn't determine whether it was HSV1 or 2.

[imsnowman]

Originally Posted by JustAskJulie

There is now a test for HSV that can detect whether or not you have the virus... it's a blood test and can be cost prohibitive. Until recently however, they really couldn't test you for it unless you had a symptoms or had recently had symptoms... and even at that point it couldn't determine whether it was HSV1 or 2.

And it's inaccurate, false positives and negatives.

[blissedcpl]

Viral cultures are non-specific for the type of herpes (HSV1 vs. HSV2), and these tests are the ones that are likely to produce a false negative. The culture must be taken from an active lesion, and an active lesion produces the most virus when it first appears, less over the next few days, and then none. Testing the lesion a couple of days after it first appears can mean little or not active virus, which means negative test result. It’s a false negative because the person might have herpes, but the lesion was tested at the wrong time. You’ve probably heard how with a cold or flu you’re most contagious at the beginning, when you’re just starting to feel sick. Same principle here.

Type-specific blood tests like the HerpeSelect test for the presence of herpes antibodies in a person’s bloodstream. Those antibodies stay with a person for a lifetime, so the rate of false negatives is much lower for these tests. Type-specific blood tests are relatively new and unfortunately almost never part of standard std testing that most doctors or clinics offer. See http://racoon.com/herpes/main/Testing.htm for information on testing.